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Change the world!
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24/10/2006
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Innovation is critical to the survival of any business. In the electronics world, innovation is even more important, given the rapid change in both technology and the demands of the consumer.
Some have no doubt about its importance. Take Harry Tee, for example. He’s chairman of the Electronics Leadership Council, which has been set up to drive the future of the UK’s electronics industry. Tee is unequivocal: “I have one simple message for the UK electronics community,” he said. “Innovate or die.”
New Electronics, sister publication Eureka and Cranfield University’s School of Management subscribe to Tee’s view and recognise and celebrate innovation through the annual Innovation & Design Excellence Awards (iDEA).
Winner of this year’s Innovation & Design Excellence of the Year Award was CSR, which also won the Product Innovation Award for its VoIP dongle and development kit.
You could be excused asking the simple question ‘what is innovation?’. Lou Reade, editor of Eureka magazine, was one of this year’s iDEA judges. He said: “We looked for factors that set companies apart from their rivals, such as: expertise in a particular branch of technology; an open, collaborative working environment; proven ability to solve customer problems; a desire to lead the market, rather than follow it; a willingness to take calculated risks; and proof of products that are successful in the market.
“The products themselves are very important. Companies need to prove their success in the market. But it’s not enough that they simply have a good idea.”
But here’s another view of what constitutes innovation. It comes from Dean Kamen, president of DEKA Research, which numbers the Segway Human Transporter amongst its innovative developments. Kamen established DEKA in 1982 after ‘dropping out’ from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the US.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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